Kizuna: Memories
by ToxicTsukino
Summary: "The cicadas are about to sing again… I haven't forgotten our promise and nor should you. I'll be waiting for you…" Summertime has arrived in Japan, and the ex-Seigaku regulars reunite to grant an unfulfilled promise they made among each other many years ago. Anniversary fic of both "Memory" and "Kizuna" which were written 10 years ago! Tez/Fuj, Momo/Ryo, Inu/Kai, GP, and more!
1. MEMORY ONE

**Kizuna: Memories**

 **ToxicTsukino**

 **MEMORY ONE**

 _'Ne… Do you remember the time that we all stood under the rain of cherry blossoms at the peak of spring..? I knew then, that nothing would ever be the same as it had been. That day we had all made a promise to all meet again when the cherry blossoms were long withered away-when the cicadas would sing. However, what I remember most is grasping the cut off second button of your gakuran tightly in my palm…. Those unspoken words… I remember that time well…'_

* * *

The room was dingy and dimly lit with the curtains closed to shut out the bright afternoon light. Purple eyes scanned the cheap flat screen led television that sat in the motel room. Sounds of the neighboring freeway could be heard as the male sitting on the bed turned the volume up to hear the results of the game played. He hadn't even bothered unpacking his belongings the night before. There was no point. After this match, he would be on the move again to the next town.

Momoshiro Takeshi was twenty-four years old now, and was rather privileged. He was lucky to be capable of traveling all over the world. Privileged to be a trust fund grandchild, he decided to use the earnings towards his goal. He certainly knew that his grandparents would have never approved of such a careless throw away of their money. Instead, he should have been fresh out of university-a salary worker at the least. However, the bright eyed dark haired male couldn't stand for it. He never had desired a normal life. His life had been taken over usually by one of two things if not both.

The first, being tennis. He was fixated on tennis for as long as he could ever remember. Momoshiro couldn't recall a day in his youth where he wasn't at least throwing around a tennis ball, if not holding onto a racket.

However, as time went by Momoshiro found himself spectating rather than participating. That was the blame of the second thing that took over his life…

"Game, set and match! Echizen, Ryoma!" the announcer called out as the game ended.

Momoshiro grinned as he murmured to himself, "Fuck yeah kid… How many wins does this make in your streak? I can't even keep count..."

He felt proud even from afar. There was something about Ryoma Echizen that allured Momoshiro. He wasn't sure if it was the kid's snarky arrogant attitude or how the golden eyed male was still as childlike as ever in private-away from prying eyes. How Momoshiro knew, he wasn't sure...but he had a feeling Ryoma still had an affinity for cats, cans of Fanta, and leaving the strawberries on cakes best for last. It had been the longest time since he had heard from Ryoma. At the ripe age of 18, the boy had decided to take off to the United States-again. To professionally play tennis for big names.

It hadn't taken much to get him there. There had been a variety of different people who had already set their sights on swooping a name like Echizen up. After all, Ryoma _was_ the prodigy child of Echizen, Nanjiroh. The heir-name was a bit of a pedigree in the tennis world. Not to mention the pride of Japan.

However, with Ryoma suddenly out of Momoshiro's life-he felt empty. He felt devastated even. At first, he had no idea why. Why the fuck was he so depressed over the kid? He tried play tennis to keep his mind off of it. Heck, he tried going to a community college for his first semester to please his folks. He played tennis as a hobby and tried to focus on his studies.

It took playing a match at the street courts with none other than Ibu Kamio and getting his ass royally handed to him for Momoshiro to realize that Echizen was a god damn problem.

His mind was everywhere. He tried reaching out to Ryoma but realized he had deleted his private facebook, his instagram was merely for PR and were ran by his overbearing manager-his phone number had obviously changed since he had left the country.

There was absolutely no way for Momoshiro to contact Ryoma-even just to hear his voice. He just needed to be put at ease somehow and wondered if just _talking_ to him would help at all. When Ryoma took a selfie with Sakuno Ryuzaki; Momoshiro lost it. How the heck did Ryoma acknowledge a girl he barely even paid mind to back in their school days?! Why the hell was he back in Japan and didn't bother to say shit to anyone? _Were they holding hands?_ His heart dropped into his gut making him sick and suddenly, he faced an epiphany.

 _Had he fallen in love with Echizen, Ryoma?_ Was he….jealous?

That was whole different adventure as Momoshiro recalled. He then had to wonder if he was gay and how gay was he…? Right before he dropped out of college, Momoshiro called up the only person he knew was still in town at the time-someone who had been attending school at the local university.

Kaoru Kaidoh had begrudgingly came to meet up with Momoshiro, wondering why the hell he was calling him out of nowhere. They played a tennis match at a random court nearby and yet again, Momoshiro lost to the _mamushi_ of all things…. He remembered arguing with Kaidoh at the net-even bringing up Ryoma.

" _Where is Echizen when I need him?! He's not nearly as difficult to deal with as you are. He's way cuter than you too!"_

" _Fsshhhh… Would you like some water to dilute that all that salt with? Calm the hell down…"_

" _No, you know what?! Fuck you!"_

Momoshiro grabbed Kaidoh by the neck of his dark green tank top and pulled him into a very sloppy kiss. The snake had panicked and Momoshiro remembered a pain in his left jaw and being thrown to the ground.

Spit landed beside him as Kaidoh wiped his mouth.

" _If you like him so damn much then get off your ass and go find him! Don't take this shit out on me! Disgusting! Fucking idiot!"_

That had also been the last time Momoshiro recalled seeing Kaidoh. After that, Momoshiro packed his belongings, researched where the US open was taking place, took out his savings, and booked the next flight out to the United States.

Here Momoshiro Takeshi was-years later, and still with no Echizen Ryoma to talk to. Every time there was a competition, Momoshiro had tried hard to attend. Tickets were often expensive and by now, he had ran through most of his savings. He was stuck to being confined to a cheap ratty motel room in the heart of Los Angeles watching the final match of the open on the screen. Ryoma had won. Again. For what seemed like the umpteenth time.

The only person who truly could challenge him was their previous buchou, Tezuka Kunimitsu who had gotten picked up to play in Europe alongside Atobe Keigo who was known to often play in France. It was more than likely that you would see Tezuka and Atobe play against each other than the two playing against Ryoma. It was strange but both of the older players liked to seek solace within Europe rather than aiming for international glory like Ryoma… It was something which was strange even for someone as eccentric and vain as Atobe Keigo-but Momoshiro learned not to question it. Perhaps the former ice king of Hyoutei decided to finally settle down…

Tezuka had no desire to play against Ryoma. That score had been long settled-and Tezuka was almost in fear of injuring his arm again playing against the more youthful male. The stoic former buchou rather play tennis forever and not be the best; than play against Ryoma in an attempt to be the best and end his career early.

Momoshiro jumped as he felt a vibration from the phone that sat beside him on the bed. The screen glowed bright-and suddenly he felt the color drain out of his face as he recognized a text message from a number that he hadn't seen in a very long time. It was his senpai-Fuji Syusuke messaging him in a mass text…

" _The cicadas are about to sing again… I haven't forgotten our promise and nor should you. I'll be waiting for you…'_

Below, was an address with directions to what Momoshiro assumed, was Fuji's large inherited house. From what he had heard, the tensai lived on the property alone. Fuji Yuuta refused to live with his older brother and was away dorming at a university in Kansai for graduate school. Yumiko Fuji was abroad studying design from what Eiji had told Momoshiro.

Eiji Kikumaru often kept in contact with Momoshiro. While Eiji was unable to always hear from everyone-whom the red headed boy couldn't contact; he would hear from from his roommate Oishi Shuuichiro (the only two who actually stayed together after their high school graduation). This is how Momoshiro knew as much as he did. Eiji often texted Momoshiro and kept him informed occasionally among their conversations.

Guilt plagued Momoshiro knowing he would not be going. He had Ryoma to follow. He was running out of money to travel and this was one of his last few chances to get into contact with him in person.

He just couldn't be bothered…

A press conference was about to be held right after the match that Ryoma had won. Momoshiro was eagerly waiting, his eyes fixated on the screen. He had waited and waited… It was odd for Ryoma to not being within sight somewhere. The interviewers were even questioning where he was, and the TV announcers were trying their best with impromptu commentary in an attempt to stall.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Ryoma's stiff dressed manager came out onto the stage. Momoshiro was familiar with the man because he was strict and it's who would often contact Momoshiro back in direct message with some stiff reply that "fans are fans and his dedication was appreciated.". It annoyed the hell out of him, all he was trying to do is get in contact with his former teammate to reconcile how he felt about him, and here was this douche in the way…

The manager's eyes looked stone cold and grim even as he walked up to the podium. There was _still_ no Echizen in sight.

"I regret to inform you all that right after Ryoma Echizen's victory of the open, he has been nowhere to be found. Once I get in contact with him, I will keep you all updated on all of what's going on. Thank you all for your patience..," the manager announced. He seemed annoyed as he did panicked. Not even _he_ had figured out where his star tennis prodigy had ran off to.

"What the hell Echizen..." Momoshiro muttered in disbelief. Ryoma had never not attended a press conference. Did something terrible happen to him? Was he okay?

Momoshiro's mind ran a million miles a minute trying to come up with some type of scenario or explanation for Ryoma's sudden disappearance…

' _The cicadas are about to sing again….'_

It just then hit Momoshiro what had just happened. He let out a string of curses as he threw himself out of bed and quickly began packing. Suddenly, Momoshiro knew _exactly_ where Ryoma Echizen had disappeared to without a word. He finally had a one up on that pesky cockblock of a manager! While everyone else was puzzled as to where the infamous tennis star disappeared to after such a grand win-Momoshiro knew _exactly_ where he was and where he was headed.

Momoshiro quickly dialed LAX knowing that he was about to seriously make a sudden flight request that might not be available to book online, "Hi, I'm inquiring about an availability of a flight out to Narita or Haneda airport tonight?"

* * *

Ryoma Echizen was known to be the first to win on serves alone. He was _just that good,_ and he couldn't help it. Tennis has ran in his family since before he was born. Between him and his brother Ryoga, he had been the more talented player-his father's star child. With that came to thrills and pressures of victory and the obligation of being famous. The thrill was fine. The obligation and fame was a pain.

While fame might suit someone like the monkey-king Atobe, Ryoma liked to do what he was best at and get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, getting sponsored and making money required having public relations skills and abiding by your staff and manager.

So when Ryoma Echizen decided to quickly sneak away from his own press conferences after his victory without being noticed-he knew he was in trouble. If it weren't for Ryoma needing to discreetly hail a ride service to quickly get to the airport, he would have turned his cell phone off after his manager's third attempt at calling. He let each call carry over to voicemail.

As soon as he saw Fuji Syusuke's text...he was intrigued. It was suddenly a reason to go home. How he had truly missed home… Other countries were fun and exciting based on being in a new environment, but Ryoma direly missed Japan. He missed the familiarity of the streets and speaking in his own native tongue he grew up with. More importantly, he missed his friends.

Ryoma had quickly visited on certain holidays when he would finally have a break. Matter of fact, he had even tried his hand at dating for a quick second. Mainly because he was so lonely and needed some sort of familiarity to save his sanity at that point in time. Sakuno Ryuzaki had confessed to him on his first visit back to Japan. She had went out of her way to do so-trying to figure out when he would return. It had worked out for a couple of months, but Ryoma soon realized that long distance was difficult and while Sakuno was very pretty-she wasn't his type when it came to her personality.

Dating hadn't interested him since. The green haired boy fought back a smile knowing that Momo-senpai would have relentlessly teased him and would have given him shit if he ever figured out that he failed at dating a girl. He'd probably say that 'spitting game' was the only game he couldn't win or some shit…

Ryoma couldn't wait to be back in Japan and see his old teammates. He wondered how much people had changed and what they were doing. Usually, he would be apathetic about an invite back home. However, being homesick had humbled him and made him feel oddly sentimental. It would be nice to be around people who weren't out for a business deal with him for a change. There was something assuring and comforting about knowing that he would soon be around people who truly knew him.

"Where are you headed out to from LAX?" the driver asked attempting to make small talk from the front seat.

"Tokyo," Ryoma answered.

"Ahh! Sounds like fun. Are you heading out to party and shit? I hear that place is notorious for bars and clubs! I bet it's an awesome time out in those parts. The States are just chaos… Especially in this traffic. Man, what I would give just to take a train everywhere.."

"Actually, it's home. I'm going home," Ryoma corrected with a smile.

* * *

Pondering was a constant occurrence lately in the fawn haired tensai's life. After a long while of debating with himself, he had finally managed to do what he had been on the fence about for weeks. He had finally mustered the courage to text everyone and invite them to his spacious home for the summer. It had taken Eiji encouraging him and reassuring him that it was a great idea and that everyone had too much of a history with each other for it not to be a good idea or obligation at the least.

The whole ordeal had been a visiting Atobe Keigo's fault.

Fuji Syusuke had retired from the tennis scene to pursue photography. He now was a freelance professional photographer in multiple genres. One job required working with Akutagawa Jiroh, who was a well known stylist for models now (especially in Japan)-and more importantly Atobe Keigo's lover. They were open about their relationship and Jiroh was the envy of many women. He was literally treated like a princess. While one would think that Jiroh was head-over-heels in love with Atobe; it was actually the other way around. Atobe was utterly taken by the usually sleepy stylist.

Atobe while he played tennis professionally, focused on being an heir to his family business and fortune. He adored Paris and decided to reside there with Jiroh who was just as smitten with the city of love as his partner was. Atobe spent every last moment he could near Jiroh and often took him back to Japan to do stylist work while visiting both of their families.

This, was how Fuji had decided to finally take initiative on the team's promise. He recalled the encounter with both Atobe and Jiroh clearly.

 _"Fuji Syusuke, well if I never… Ore-sama is shocked to see you here of all places!" Atobe Keigo announced as he strode into the studio. Jiroh was cleaning up his station after a long day's work with Fuji being a photographer. A couple of models heads shot over to the echoing voice-the females in the room blushing in awe at the presence of the corporate heir._

" _Keigo!" Jiroh exclaimed in greeting. He had a wide happy grin on his face as he bounced over towards his boyfriend and literally hung off of him, kissing him chastely nut lovingly on the lips._

 _Fuji couldn't help but be envious of the couple… Both seemed so happy…_

" _I could say the same for you," he acknowledged._

" _Ore-sama is here to pick up his boyfriend of course. However, Jiroh didn't mention at all that he was working with you."_

" _Ah, I didn't think it was important Keigo! I didn't think you would show up to the studio. Plus, Fuji-kun is super well known in the industry! I guess I thought you already knew that," commented Jiroh._

 _Fuji couldn't help but shake his head and smile, "It's was a pleasure to work with you. And it is also nice seeing you as well Atobe. You both seem very happy."_

 _Atobe smirked, eying Fuji's lithe form up and down as if he were examining an item for purchase rather than a human being, "And_ _ **you**_ _are alluring as ever. I can see why Tezuka is still so taken with you…."_

 _Fuji felt his breath nearly choke him at the mention of Tezuka. He played off as if he were blinking confused at the mention of his former tennis team captain and friend._

" _Taken with me? I beg to differ. I haven't heard of such a name or from him in years. I'm quite sure he's content in Germany winning tennis championships and climbing the mountains there," he scoffed. He knew he had hit a nerve with Atobe mentioning Tezuka's recent victory in Europe. Atobe had actually played him and lost. Something that most likely did not settle well with the ice king at all. Fuji considered it a slight revenge for Atobe mentioning Tezuka in the first place. If he wanted to talk about Tezuka, then fine, they'd talk about Tezuka._

" _He doesn't keep in contact with you..?" Jiroh inquired concerned._

" _All of our tennis team have lived our lives separately. I do keep in contact with Eiji and Oishi-however, everyone else has drifted apart. I haven't heard from anyone else in years. I'm sure they're all doing fine though," dismissed Fuji._

" _What a shame… What type of captain neglects his own team?" Atobe mused._

" _Our lives go beyond just our junior high and high school days. We are different people," Fuji pointed out._

 _It was true. People would grow and change over time. Fuji had braced himself for it; but he hadn't know that the transition would be as painful as it had been...or that it would be so lonely. He knew that everyone would be at different ends of the worlds, walking different paths in their lives, and fulfilling their dreams. However, Fuji had always thought that Seigaku would always return home. They had promised each other the last day of the third year's graduation that they'd place in the effort each summer to return home to visit each other and make plans. Fuji had chosen the summer knowing that it possibly might be easier to receive a vacation holiday during the warmer months. Especially if it were abroad._

 _What had hurt the most was Tezuka… It was something that Fuji never spoke of openly. His heart was much too broken to talk about it, even fully with his best friend Eiji. One the last day of high school, right before their graduation ceremony-Fuji had put in great effort to call Tezuka away from his duties and obligations as class president. He remembered the cherry blossoms falling all around them and the trees swaying sounds like an ocean of leaves. The area was discreet and he often attempted to have lunches there with the other third years on the tennis team during their break periods on the days with nicer weather._

 _That day however, it had been just him and Tezuka. He remembered handing his second button to Tezuka placing it in his pants pocket. Fuji was not one to be nervous, but he had been. The second button of his was a silent subtle confession. Fuji helped himself to Tezuka's own second button on his school uniform, snatching the button quickly with a rough yank. He told Tezuka that if he wanted his button back then he would have to catch Fuji and ask for it back himself. Fuji nervously ran off, back with his classmates who were gathered in front of the school auditorium for their graduation ceremony._

 _During the whole ceremony, Fuji found himself glancing in Tezuka's direction. Even as he gave an ending speech as class president he couldn't help but fidget. Especially as a couple neighboring girls murmured between themselves noticing that he had been missing his second button-thinking he had confessed to a lucky girl when in reality, Fuji was gripping the button tightly in the palm of his hand._

 _After the graduation ceremony was over, Fuji had met up with his family first to speak and receive praise for finishing his time in high school. Being separated from his classmates and Tezuka helped ease his nerves. His antics with his youngest brother Yuuta helped distract him as did hugging his sister whom had flown in from abroad just to see his graduation. That soon ended however, when the other second and first years of the tennis team began to gather to congratulate the third years. Everyone had been energetic and full of life despite the melancholy atmosphere. It had been as if everyone was trying to ignore the fact that nothing would be the same. This wasn't like back in junior high school when they all knew they would be reunited at Seigaku High. Everyone was about to truly go their own separate ways. It placed the usually composed Fuji in a panic._

 _Unlike most who were going to go off abroad for their studies, Fuji was intending on possibly applying for an art school and partaking in freelance work on the side for extra income. His life would no longer be about tennis and more importantly, his silent admiration for Tezuka Kunimitsu would come to a close. If he did not say anything-it would be left unsaid. His feelings would have been left floating._

 _Fuji suggested a plan then and there for his own reassurance. One that everyone at the time, seemed to be up for. In five years, they would meet again during the summer. The regulars would play tennis again regardless of its place in their future lives. They would spend the summer together. Regardless of obligation or where they were._

 _Tezuka had not acknowledged Fuji the entire time during their meeting with their other teammates. To make matters even worse, he kept his distance. Fuji was very used to having Tezuka by his side. They stood together frequently. Especially with the team. They'd quietly comment about a game or talk casually between one another. However, Tezuka stayed far away from Fuji the entire time and ignored his presence. Nobody had even once questioned it-that, or they chose to ignore it knowing that they'd be getting in too deep._

 _There was a dinner among them at the Kawamura family sushi restaurant and Fuji remembered sitting at the end near the door. Everyone was merrily talking and being their usual selves._

 _Tezuka was the first to leave, receiving a phone call from his parents over an important matter. He stood near the door and Fuji remembered that it was the last time he was close to the spectacled boy at all. His face showed no emotion as he parted, only a slight smile as he bid everyone goodbye. He took only one glance at Fuji-the first and last sign of acknowledgment he ever received from him before leaving._

 _Fuji's heart broke._

 _It had been more than five years since their promise. Nobody met up. Fuji hadn't bothered to try. He did not have the courage to be the person to reunite everyone…._

" _Plus, it's not Tezuka's responsibility to look after us anymore. He did his part during our school years. The rest would be up to us now," continued Fuji._

" _Mn.. While that may be true, I know he does reminiscence about his team's old glory days. I keep in contact with him to know. Ore-sama is fairly sure if someone were to get into contact with him; he would come in a heart beat. Especially if it were you tensai..."_

 _Jiroh smiled knowingly as if he were aware of something Fuji wasn't. It perturbed him. What did Atobe and Jiroh know that Fuji didn't? Fuji knew what happened well. If he and Tezuka were to meet again, it would be forced and awkward. The fawn haired tensai had already received his answer to his confession long ago… There was no need to push or pry._

" _Like I mentioned, I'm sure Tezuka is happier away in Europe. He was never one to like to stick too long in the past," dismissed Fuji._

" _You know… I've has seen him looking at your instagram account on a couple of occasions when he has the time to. He loves your photos… I'm very sure he misses you. Why would he lurk o your account if he didn't…? Ore-sama has his number if you would like..?" Atobe pointed out with a chuckle. He had a bemused look on his face as he spoke._

 _Fuji's azure eyes widened at the offer. Atobe suddenly was the bridge between him and Tezuka… It was an opportunity to perhaps reconcile things with him and apologize. The shock came mainly from Atobe mentioning Tezuka scrolling through his instagram feed that he used for his photography… How exactly had Tezuka found that anyway….? Atobe wasn't one to lie either…_

 _Atobe grabbed a piece of paper from a receipt from his rather large and fancy billfold and scrawled a phone number and e-mail address onto the piece of paper with a pen. He handed it over to Fuji._

" _Consider it Ore-sama doing you...and him...a huge favor," the heir said._

 _Jiroh smiled as he grabbed his lover's hand, "I'm sure you won't regret contacting him. You both should plan a reunion with your team. Keigo and I meet up with ours all the time. It's really fun and we all enjoy it."_

" _Thank you both. Perhaps I'll consider it..."_

Since then, Fuji had idly fingered the piece of paper he kept stashed away in the pockets every outfit he wore as he debated on what exactly to do with this piece of information. He was afraid of contacting Tezuka on his own. Fuji knew it was unlike him. He was usually smooth and confident. When it came to Tezuka, Fuji couldn't help but lose his cool. Kunimitsu Tezuka was the undoing of the tensai on multiple occasions.

Weeks later, Fuji called Eiji. At first, it was for the need of reassurance from his best friend. Eiji Kikumaru was bubbly and bright-and had Oishi by his side. Something Fuji was rather envious of because despite Eiji never confessing to Oishi; he had managed to keep the volley player by his side post-high school and was happy just having the boy in his life. Eiji often stated that confessing to Oishi wasn't worth possibly ruining their friendship.

It was as sad as it was wise of his red-headed friend.

Eiji was excited. He knew of Fuji's feelings well despite not knowing the full details of what happened during their high school graduation. He encouraged Fuji to call or even text him if he was that nervous to have a voice to voice phone call with their former buchou. Fuji had insisted he couldn't. It might sound too desperate or random.

Oishi chimed in on the phone that Eiji had clearly put on speaker, that it wouldn't be. That even he had kept in contact with Tezuka vaguely and that it wouldn't be a problem at all.

Fuji still rejected the encouragement stating that they did not know what he knew about Tezuka.

Eiji eventually brought up the promise.

" _Hey Fujiko! Nyaa..remember our promise?"_

" _Promise?"_

" _Mouuu! You don't remember and yet you're the one who suggested it? The weather is getting warmer. It's been more than five years now… You have a big house of your own. I'm sure it gets lonely..."_

" _Are you suggesting that I have a stay over at my place with our team?"_

" _That's exactly what I'm suggesting! Me and Oishi can help you get into contact with everyone. Oishi still talks to Inui and Taka...Tezuka too on an occasion. I can give you Momo-chin's number and Kaidoh's too! Though I don't have Ochibi's..."_

" _Do you think everyone would be up for it…?"_

" _It was a promise. They'd have to be up for it. That way, you could talk to Tezuka-buchou again without it being weird! I'll be here for you even if it gets that way..."_

" _Okay…."_

 _Oishi cut in immediately, "I can get into contact with Tezuka...but I'm not asking him to come to Japan for you. You are the one who suggested this, so you'll be the one to fulfill it. The only thing I'm bothering Tezuka about will be Echizen's contact information. I know he is the only person who has it."_

Here Fuji was, his hand feeling vibrations of energy from pressing the send button on his phone as he mass text messaged the former regulars of Seigaku… He had sent a date to meet at his home and an address with the message:

" _The cicadas are about to sing again… I haven't forgotten our promise and nor should you. I'll be waiting for you…._

 _-Fuji"_

 _ **(A/N: Hello! Long time no speak TeniPuri fandom! It's been a very long while. For those of you who don't know me, hi! I'm ToxicTsukino, formerly known by the username BluAyu. More than ten years ago at the age of 13/14, I wrote this really cheesy fanfiction called "Memory". Ten years ago, I wrote a re-write of Memory called "Kizuna" that never quite got finished. Lately, I've been really nostalgic and revisited some of my old work. I suddenly had the strongest desire to write TeniPuri fic again. I thought, why not TRY AGAIN to do a re-write of the premises I wrote a very long time ago?**_

 _ **I feel like this rewrite is very meaningful because I am 26 years old now versus 13 and 16 when I wrote both of of the other fics. I thought it would be special to do an anniversary rewrite because now I am the age of the characters in this fic and my life experience of views have really changed from when I wrote both stories. Plus, I would also like to think that my writing style has drastically improved versus the last two.**_

 _ **The title Kizuna is inspired from two very famous J-Pop songs as well as the Japanese meaning. Kizuna in Japanese means "bonds" or a "connection". But also I took the inspiration from An Cafe's "Kizuna" as well as Kamenashi Kazuya's "Kizuna" both of which have not only meaning but make me myself feel very nostalgic because these are songs from my own youth/teenage years. Hence, why I kept the title and combined it with the original plot title "Memory".**_

 _ **Anyway, hopefully I don't fall off of writing this story like I did with Kizuna. I AM working on a Sailor Moon fic at the same time (and Caste Heaven fic that is much shorter ending wise than this and MSE will be) so updates will vary. Plus, I'm in school still/studying very hard too and that can change things as well.**_

 _ **I apologize for how much this chapter jumped around with flashbacks and such. I'm trying to set up the story to where things are explained for when we really get into some stuff. We literally had an inception flashback..lmao -facepalms- I'm so sorry. Less jumping and flashbacks in future chapters I promise!**_

 _ **ALSO, I am not very informed with what the heck has happened in the Prince of Tennis series post the original anime series. I casually watched Shin TeniPuri but that was a long time ago and none of the new people stuck. I also recently watched the movie that took place in Europe which is what kind of rekindled my love for the series (also I really fucking loved that they used an AAA song for the movie ahahaha I fangirled because I'm a J-Pop nerd). Because this is a re-write of "Memory" and "Kizuna", I'm going to keep this fic extremely simple and not add the new teams in for my own sanity's sake! I really hope you don't mind and I hope it doesn't deter you from this story.**_

 _ **I'm also sorry if things aren't as accurate. It's been awhile since I've dabbled in this fandom and its characters so it will take me a moment to get into things yet again. I know everyone seems slightly out of character right now-mainly because it's people's innermost thoughts about not exactly how they portray themselves outwardly but that will change soon!)**_


	2. MEMORY TWO

**MEMORY TWO**

Fuji awaited everyone's arrival with a nervous twist in his stomach. He sat at his coffee table; an iced tea in hand as he gazed out of the curtained window for any sign of anyone. He wasn't quite sure whom would show up first. Eiji and Oishi did not live far despite moving out to the country-side. They were a two hour drive away. Both ran a pet store that apparently, was being babysat by some very responsible co-workers while they were away on vacation from what Fuji was assured. They hopefully be the first to arrive.

Inui, surprisingly, was the first to respond via text message. He cleverly mentioned that he had calculated the likelihood of a reunion ever since the summer of the fifth year passed. Inui told him that he had a feeling that the request to fulfill the promise this summer would arrive soon. His prediction stood correct. The data specialist announced that he would be flying in from Taiwan and would be there with in a day given his current schedule.

Fuji merely replied to him that he would have a room set up for him for when he arrived-and that if he arrived at night to please call him so he could be let into the house.

A very apologetic Takashi Kawamura replied soon after. He mentioned that he had gotten married a couple of years ago, inherited his family's sushi shop (which had relocated to a different part of town), and also had a very active toddler to take care of. He sent a picture of his smiling family to Fuji. They seemed lively and happy. Taka seemed to have aged-Fuji was only able to tell from his smile in the picture; he was gaining lines and wrinkles. It was most likely from the work-life balance he was attempting to juggle. Beside him was his wife in a very festive yukata, her fawn brown hair was tied into an intricate updo as a decorative kanazashi dangled within the grasp of the child she was carrying on her hip. Taka had a daughter whom was also dressed in a mini-sized yukata. She wasn't paying attention in the picture to anything other than the shiny object that was placed into her mother's hair. Taka was the only one not dressed up. He was in his sushi chef attire mostly swamped with work unable to change into festival wear with his family. Especially since he was the boss, owner, and manager of the restaurant that was providing a life for himself and his family. Regardless, they all seemed very content...

A second text came from Taka that he was sorry that he would not be able to make a lot of time; but that all of the regulars were welcome to visit the sushi shop for dinner. Taka said he would be thrilled to introduce his family to them all.

Nobody else had replied to the text message. This is what made Fuji nervous. He was not quite sure who exactly would show up other than Inui, Eiji, and Oishi. What if nobody else bothered? Would they just make the best of the situation?

Fuji deemed most likely. If it were just the former third years, then he'd at least heal his broken heart in the company of good friends. For some reason though, Fuji had an eerie gut feeling that the knots twisting in his stomach were hopeful bouts of anticipation rather than disappointment.

For now, all he could do was wait…

* * *

Momoshiro ended up having to haul his ass immediately over to Los Angeles airport in hopes of snagging a departing flight. Which was something that the current lady at the desk wasn't having. She kept insisting that without proper paperwork and such, he wouldn't be able to return home for another two days. Priority had to be given to people with emergencies that needed to fly home…

' _Trust me lady, I wouldn't be bothering you if it wasn't somewhat OF an emergency in my mind… You have no idea…_ ' the power player wryly thought to himself.

Defeated, Momoshiro sighed and dragged himself over to one of the airport bars to buy himself a drink. So god help him if Ryoma Echizen merely poked his head in to say hello and went across the fucking ocean again… This was literally his only chance and he felt like he was racing against time and a timezone even to get his ass back to Japan.

"What will it be?" the bartender asked in English.

"A remedy for a broken heart," Momoshiro answered. He had picked up English in the span of a couple years traveling, knowing it would be useful for how often he was going abroad. He'd often study in the hotels or on the airplane… It was the most academic he had ever been, and he secretly had a sly thrill and hope that it would shock as much as impress Ryoma if they ever met again…

The older man laughed throwing his head back, completely taken for bemused at the response. He knowingly smiled.

"Separated from your girlfriend?" he inquired.

Momoshiro gave a half smile, "Something like that I suppose.."

It wasn't exactly the truth, but he wasn't about to completely pour his heart out to a random stranger working in the bar at the airport. Nobody needed to know he was longing for an intentionally famous tennis superstar. He just needed alcohol to soothe his nerves and frustrations. So a girlfriend it was…

"Are you leaving or did you see her off?" the bartender pressed as his moved behind the counter to grab a variety of bottles and some ice on the shelf.

"More like I have one opportunity to see her an ocean away after missing her for so long… Hell, she doesn't even know I like her. I'm racing against time and my damn nerves buddy…"

"Sounds like a tough one. You gonna confess to her?" the man asked.

"Perhaps… If I make it on time," Momoshiro answered.

The bartender slid across the table rather generously filled glass with a colorful mixed concoction. It was bright blue; Momoshiro very sure it was summery Blue Hawaii. If he didn't know such, he would have jokingly mistook it for one of Inui-senpai's crazy drink creations.

Momoshiro internally shuddered at the reminder of that. _That_ was something he could do without on his return back home.

"Here's to hoping you get your lady. A celebratory drink for you my good man," the bartender complimented.

"Thank you sir," Momoshiro acknowledged.

Another group of customers entered the bar/restaurant-loud rambunctious tourists that most likely were back from taking pictures in Hollywood, eating dinners at The Grove, and strolling down Sunset… The bartender went to take their order, leaving Momoshiro to himself with his thoughts. He casually sipped on his drink through the straw. He hoped it would calm his nerves and have him feel less antsy.

By the forth suck, he already felt like he was loosened up compared to before. When he finally finished, Momoshiro suddenly felt like he could take on the day with ease. He'd see if another airline could accommodate him-even if it wasn't a non-stop trip. If he had to make a pit stop in South Korea or China; so be it. He just needed to feel like he was doing something and going somewhere.

Momoshiro slid off of the bar-stool and paid for his tab before departing the establishment. He walked around the airport noticing that the sun was slowly beginning to set through the windows. He had been at the airport since three that afternoon. It was now seven o'clock, with no progress or flight…

He sat on a bench watching others grab luggage and unite with the loved ones. There was a particular scene that touched him and yet made him blush as he saw a very pretty blonde with cascading curls n a high-to-low run up to her suit attired boyfriend and leap onto him capturing him into a very deep kiss...as if she had waited and missed him for so long.

Momoshiro wondered where the had guy went to and just how lucky he might have been to be missed…

"Momo-senpai?"

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He must be getting tipsy or drunk... he was thinking so much about Echizen throughout the day that he was hearing him.

"I know I can't be wrong. What are you doing here?"

Momoshiro felt the breath be taken from him as he realized that he wasn't imagining things. Ryoma Echizen was in the same airport, within reaching distance in front of him looking baffled seeing him there…

Seeing Ryoma in person was surreal. He was much taller standing in front of him than Momoshiro thought he was on television. Perhaps it's because he was so used to the kid being so much shorter.. Suddenly over the long timespan, he was slightly above chin level (Momoshiro was thrilled that he was still somewhat taller than him), he had on a black track suit of all things which hid his very lanky build, and his hair was still hidden by his trademark Fila cap. Thankfully, this was an airport where most people tried to dress comfortable for long flights and athleisure was currently trendy-otherwise Ryoma would stand out like a sore thumb.

Momoshiro then remembered that he needed to speak and say something. His mouth was gaping open and closed like a glubbing fish…

"I-I could say the same for you kid!" he retorted back. He suddenly felt stupid. Of course Ryoma would be here. He just played a game in Los Angeles and was heading back to Japan based on the mass text message sent to all of the former regulars.

Maybe Kaidoh was right. He was an idiot…

"You must not keep up with stuff… I played in the open here today. I partially live here half the time. I didn't know _you_ would be in the States though..," explained Ryoma with a raised eyebrow.

"Why should I keep up with anything you do when you just up and left with no way for anyone to reach you…? Thanks for the update kid… No message of a new number or anything! Hell, I want to know how Fuji-senpai even managed to grab your digits!" Momoshiro scoffed.

"Most likely through Tezuka-buchou..." Ryoma murmured almost as if it was to himself, "Hey, I'm sorry. It wasn't exactly my choice to cut everyone off. I've been extremely busy and even getting here was a pain because my manager is constantly a headache to sneak around."

Momoshiro sighed, "It's fine… It's understandable. You are….famous...after all."

"You never did tell me why you're here," Ryoma pointed out with a smirk.

"I just happened to be in the area. I actually like coming out to the US a lot. All the good hamburgers are out here and shit. It's less conservative than back home. It must be a coincidence that we are both here at the same time," the power player explained with a shrug. He knew he was lying but he couldn't let Ryoma know what a total freak he had been the last couple of years…

"I'm assuming you're headed back because of the text message…?"

"It _was_ a promise after all," Momoshiro pointed out.

Ryoma nodded before suddenly walking away from him. Momoshiro found himself instantly panicking. He stupidly scrambled out of his seat and grabbed the smaller male by his arm to keep him from going away. He wasn't about the lose him… Not after all of this…

"What?" Ryoma asked with a confused stare, "I'm just going over to get a soda. I'm thirsty."

He pointed to the neighboring vending machine across the way to emphasize his point.

Momoshiro found his face heat up in embarrassment. He was way too eager and way too sensitive. He blamed the alcohol he had earlier…

"I-I…." he didn't know what to say.

Ryoma's golden cat-like eyes twinkled as he smirked and teasingly said, "Mada mada dane. Senpai.."

Momoshiro hadn't even been aware that his face could get any redder but it did. Shit… This kid went from cute and snarky as a teen to damn sexy and confident as an adult. He said the same words but in a different manner… It still had a nonchalant arrogant tone about it but the fact that Ryoma Echizen could so much as have the gall to tease him-of all people! That smirk was deadly!

He found himself trailing behind the smaller male as he fished out change for Ryoma and himself. As they arrived at the machine, Momoshiro quickly slid the coins into it before Ryoma could even manage to pull out his wallet to pay for his drink. Momoshiro pressed the button for water to himself and a grape Fanta for his friend.

"When is your flight?" inquired Momoshiro as he handed a suddenly taken aback Ryoma his soft drink.

"Thank you…" Ryoma said as he pulled his cap down to cover his eyes, "In a couple of hours.. What about yours?"

"Eh.. I haven't managed to score a flight. I have to wait two days apparently-even for a damn connecting..."

Ryoma smirked, "Sounds like you're complete shit at planning..."

Momoshiro couldn't help but scoff.

"Hey! That's not fair to say. This was totally last minute. Unlike _you_ Mr. Just-Won-the-Tennis-Open, not all of us roll out in style with a black card at their disposal," he said.

Ryoma blinked looking up at him shocked, "So you _did_ watch…?"

Momoshiro blushed suddenly realizing he was caught… He had just blurted out that he had watched the Ryoma's match from earlier...

"A-Ah...well yeah… How could I not..?" he admitted as he rubbed his neck nervously.

"Was that why you were in Los Angeles?" Ryoma pressed.

Momoshiro's heart leapt out of his chest. He had been completely caught. It figured that Echizen caught on fast….

"Of course not!" the spiky haired male lied, "Why the hell would I travel so far just to watch something I could watch on the television back home? Don't be so conceited!"

"I see… Smooth, Senpai. Real smooth," Ryoma teased with a laugh.

Ryoma's laughter was infectious and adorable. It wasn't often that the boy laughed at all. Even in this youth it was done out of confidence or arrogance. This was done out of a different sort of bemusement. It gave Momoshiro butterflies that were infectious. He wanted to kiss the laugh away and admit right then and there how much he missed him. How he had followed him all this time just to speak to him again and confirm what he was feeling.

Yet again, Momoshiro blamed the alcohol. The alcohol was talking. It took everything in him to keep his sanity and remind himself that admitting such things would be extremely dangerous given the circumstances. He didn't want to scare the boy off. Especially since he had just now found him.

"Come with me loser," Ryoma continued with a grin.

Momoshiro raised an eyebrow in confusion at such a statement.

"You're getting on the plane with me. It's a sixteen hour flight and I'm going to be really bored without company," continued Ryoma.

"Y-You don't have to do that Echizen! Plus, I doubt they'll let you. They were really throwing me for a loop with booking a flight earlier," Momoshiro stuttered in protest.

Ryoma smirked looking back, "You were the one who said money speaks. I have money to spend. Consider yourself lucky… Momo-senpai, let's go home."

And with that...how it was said from Ryoma's mouth, Momoshiro couldn't protest. It yet again took everything in him not to kiss him and tell him how amazing he was. Yes, he was going home indeed…

* * *

A small red mini-car pulled up into Fuji Syusuke's drive way early into the noon hours. He had been right. Oishi and Eiji would be the first to arrive as expected. Fuji went out into the drive way and greeted them both as the pair pulled their luggage out of the back trunk.

"Hoi! Fujiko it's been awhile! It's nice to see you!" Eiji exclaimed happily as he hauled his baggage out of the compartment in the car.

Fuji smiled, "It's only been a couple of months. We met up for dinner awhile back, remember?"

"Indeed, but it did feel like quite a long time. It was snowing the last time we met. Your house looks great Fuji," commented Oishi.

"I'm very blessed. Anyway, let me get you set up inside," Fuji said as he lead the couple into the air conditioned house.

The house was bright and airy thanks to the many windows. Despite Fuji filling it with decorative cactus, book shelves, and his scenic photography work on the walls-it still was full of space. It was honestly too big of a space for just Fuji… He had invested in after his first big gig. It was an oddly out of place large Western style home outside of the city. The tensai assumed that a very rich foreigner had built and owned the property before he had bought it. The only reason as to why he thought that was because he was privileged enough to have a private in-ground swimming pool at the backyard. Heck, he had a backyard-which was rare as it was. I pool was just excessive. It was something far more common in the West than in Japan but the fact that Fuji lived an hour-and-a-half away by train from the city's main artery explained why such a luxury was possible.

However, despite the excessiveness of the house, Fuji loved it. While he had not made use of the swimming pool often other than to maintain it, he loved that the houses next to his were further apart than it would be in a typical Japanese neighborhood, he loved his privacy as much as he loved his space… Fuji also loved that he was around nature. It was something he was fond of photographing…

Fuji's mind wandered back to Tezuka at such a thought. If he were here, he might also love the area as well due to it being near nature. There was a hiking trail nearby and a lake further in where people often fished.

"Uwa! You still have this! This feels so long ago!" Eiji exclaimed.

In the living room was a variety of different pictures. Some included him with his family, others with his siblings, but one picture was especially important. Ir was a group photo of the Seigaku regulars that Fuji had framed and treasured dearly. Ryuzaki-sensei had taken it years ago… Beside that, Fuji also had a couple of PuriKura photos skewed in a frame from high school. Some included the regulars-some with old classmates from his homeroom. One in particular Fuji treasured the most however. It was a PuriKura him, Eiji, Oishi, and Tezuka (who was reluctant but bribed at the end) had taken. Fuji only had one of the pictures because he had split the other four in the set with the other participants. Fuji often pondered if Tezuka even kept his (he was aware that Oishi and Eiji kept theirs).

Fuji's photo had been his favorite however… Eiji even relentlessly teased him about how lovey-dovey it looked… It was subtle. Eiji and Oishi were clinging to each other smiling brightly. Behind them was Fuji and Tezuka. Tezuka's arm was around Fuji's shoulders and he wore a warm smile. Fuji had to thank the gods for PuriKura lighting because he was sure he had blushed.. Thankfully the high exposure and smoothing filters masked it from being obvious and immortalized. Fuji had slyly grabbed at Tezuka's fingers in the photo for contact.

It was as close as they had ever gotten to ever looking like a couple…

"Mn, I do," Fuji responded before walking upstairs; motioning the Golden Pair to follow. He was attempting to avoid Eiji bringing up how cute it looked. He didn't need to think about it… He had set up one of the spare guest rooms to where there would be an inflatable mattress and then the main mattress. The only room that wasn't set up in this way was Fuji's own room that he intended to surrender to Tezuka while he himself slept in the living room.

"Thank you so much for letting us stay in your home for the next couple of weeks," Oishi said.

"It's no problem. I'm glad to have the company," replied Fuji.

"It's going to be fun. Everyone will show up, I'm sure," Eiji assured.

Fuji smiled raising and eyebrow challengingly, "What makes you so sure?"

"First, a promise is a promise. Second, the youngin's can't refuse a senpai's request. Third, if it's about _him-_ if he's actually been stalking your Instagram account like Atobe said he was; then he misses you or is at least thinking of you. I'm pretty sure he'll fly back to Japan," explained Eiji.

"I can't help but agree somewhat. The others I don't think you're not worried about. They'll come. Even if they haven't replied to you, I'm sure they will. If it's Tezuka...well, I know my best friend well… He doesn't speak of you or anyone much. I do know he misses home and that you were very important to him. I'm sure he feels guilty for leaving you hanging and breaking contact. Maybe...maybe he just didn't know how to respond to your confession properly," Oishi said in agreement.

"Nyaa.. Tezuka-buchou is terrible with expressing his feelings and probably coming to terms with them too… Maybe he wasn't ready," Eiji added.

"Why would he avoid me?" Fuji pressed.

"To be fair, he avoided _everyone_ afterward. I didn't even know he was flying out to Europe that weekend. He hadn't told anyone," Oishi answered.

"At least he talked to you….and said goodbye. You both know how we usually are. He's usually beside me...for once-he wasn't," Fuji explained. He felt vulnerable breaking down, but his two friends did need to know why he was anxious and somewhat hear his side of events from that day…

"He will be again… I have faith in it," Eiji assured, "He has another thing coming if he doesn't! Me and Oishi will find him myself if that happens."

Suddenly the door bell rang alerting Fuji of more arrived guests. Eiji flashed a grin, "What did I tell you?"

Fuji's heart raced as he made way down the stairs with the Golden Pair trailing behind him. As he opened the door, he found two very jet lagged looking men standing there. The first being Ryoma Echizen who had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Beside him was a slightly taller and very tired looking Momoshiro Takeshi carrying two suitcases in his hand…

"Hoi! Momo-chin! Ochibi! You made it!" Eiji exclaimed excitedly.

Momoshiro wearily smiled, "Sixteen hours later...but we're here. Holy shit I'm tired..."

"Tch.. You're the one who insisted carrying both my suitcase and yours," Ryoma bantered.

"Because you had one hell of a grueling tennis match beforehand! I'm sure your arms are tired. Sorry for being helpful, jeeze kid!" Momoshiro shot back in defense.

Fuji couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the two. Despite being separated, they hadn't changed one bit...

"Let's get you two settled. I'm sure you're very tired… Where did you both come from?" he asked.

"Los Angeles," Ryoma answered shortly. He made his way into the house with the taller man following behind him as he lifted the suitcases into the entry way as they slid off their shoes.

"Both of you?" Fuji asked with a raised eyebrow.

Echizen being in the States was not a shock. However, Momoshiro being in the United States was strange… Had they both flown in together?

Eiji suddenly had a knowing devilish grin, "Momoshiro's been _fond_ of traveling for the past couple of years."

Oishi flushed pink as did Momoshiro suddenly. Strange… Strange indeed...

"Something about delicious hamburgers and most likely "hot babes". Lord knows he wants them well endowed," Ryoma teased with a smirk.

"Hey! I said _nothing_ about girls! I'm not lecherous like that! I haven't had time for that anyway. The hamburgers are delicious though, and I'm not gonna argue that. I'll take In-and-Out any day!" Momoshiro argued.

"Just because you didn't mention it doesn't mean I don't already know. You used to gawk at girls all throughout our school years. Put a pair of tits near you and I'm sure you couldn't help but look," shot back Ryoma.

"Ahahah Ochibi are you jealous?" Eiji cackled.

"Jealous? Of what? Plastic enhanced bimbos?" Ryoma asked with a raised eyebrow.

Momoshiro rolled his eyes muttered to himself, "Oh my god…."

Fuji was amused. What all had happened? There was something that Eiji and Oishi were clearly aware of that he wasn't… He helped both boys place their things into yet again, another guest room had had set up.

"Hey, I think we're gonna nap Fuji-senpai. Knowing _mamushi_ he's gonna be busy until later tonight. I'm beat from the flight but you guys definitely should wake me and Echizen up for when everyone else arrives. I want to catch up and know about everything," Momoshiro said.

Ryoma suddenly looked violated, "Excuse you, _we?_ "

"Hell yes, _we_ brat! You barely slept either and need your beauty rest. Plus, with your cranky attitude? I'm sure you're in need of a nap," answered Momoshiro with a smug smile.

"You're a pain..." Ryoma muttered as he pulled off his cap and flopped on the main bed.

"Oi! Who the hell said you weren't getting the blow-up bed?" Momoshiro asked incredulously.

"Me, obviously," Ryoma replied.

Momoshiro looked at his three senpai with wide eyes that screamed, _'Oh my god this kid…'_

Eiji was cracking up laughing at the scene and Oishi couldn't help but sympathetically smile at the situation at hand.

"You guys rest well! And yeah, Kaidoh said we would have to meet up with him actually; so maybe we'll all go together to pick him up and all go to dinner," the red-head said.

"Che… Figured," Momoshiro muttered.

"We'll wake you both up in a bit," Oishi assured.

"Thanks," Ryoma answered.

"Mn.. Sweet dreams… Behave yourselves," Fuji teased. Momoshiro flushed red again right as the door closed making Fuji curious…

"So… What do you both know that _I_ don't hm?" Fuji inquired as they headed back downstairs to the living room.

Eiji and Oishi both looked at each other knowingly before looking at Fuji.

"You're not going to believe this but..." Oishi trailed off suddenly sounding awed and embarrassed at the same time.

"Momo-chin has a huge crush on Ochibi! He's been in love with him ever since he went off to play professionally. Momo's wanted to confess to him but didn't know how. He got a lump sum of money and has traveled back and forth between Japan and where Echizen has for every match he's played. Even if he couldn't actually attend the game-he's always made sure to be in the same city and watch in hopes of catching sight of him again. Though, I'm as shocked as you are to see them both arrive here together," Eiji explained excitedly.

"The fact that they came together…..do you think they ran into each other by coincidence?" Oishi asked.

"Coincidence," Fuji repeated with fingered air-quotes around the phrase.

"They must have gotten on the same plane though… I wonder how that was possible.." Eiji mused.

"Explains why Momoshiro was so flustered.. Our power player has a little crush on Echizen hm? That's cute… It's like puppy love," commented Fuji with his trademark smile.

Eiji sighed, "I feel bad for him… Ochibi _did_ date Ryuzaki-chan a while back. What if he's straight?"

Oishi even looked troubled hearing his partner's observation. He did have a point… It made sense as to why Momoshiro seemed so flustered. Fuji couldn't help but feel for the boy… He knew the anxiety of rejection and the heartbreak that came with un-reciprocated feelings.

However, Fuji was slightly at an advantage compared to Momoshiro. The tensai still had his fantasies of dating their captain. Tezuka had never dated anyone. Not once was he seen with a girl or taking a girl out on a date… Fuji had checked various gossip websites and tabloids just to confirm this. Fuji could still entertain the idea of still having a chance with him and not being jealous of anyone.

Momoshiro wasn't as lucky… Ryoma dating Ryuzaki's granddaughter was very much so confirmed. Though they had broken up a good year or so ago, Ryoma still might be straight. Fuji almost hoped that Momoshiro would be satisfied with finding closure than a relationship at this rate….

The thought of Tezuka had Fuji checking his phone again. There was no reply to his mass text save for the ones he had already received. It put him on edge. Eiji and Oishi's confidence reassured him but he still couldn't help but hum with excitement and anxiety.

It suddenly occurred to him that Eiji actually _knew_ where Kaidoh was and didn't bother to even reply to Fuji.

"Say Eiji, you said you got a confirmation with Kaidoh?" he inquired.

Eiji nodded, "Kaidoh felt odd messaging you considering he never really had a close bond with you. I think he's intimidated by you, so he messaged me instead. I've kept in contact with him and Momo lots. Kaidoh has really changed compared to before though. He's a part of band now..."

"A band?" Fuji repeated in question.

"Yeah. Supposedly he's really good from what Momo's said. It's an indie visual-kei band that his little brother is also in. Apparently the lead singer is a really pretty girl too! He's probably swamped with a schedule of lives," explained Eiji.

"Visual-kei… Of all things… What does he play?"

"He's the bassist. His brother is on drums and the other guy is on guitar. Like I mentioned, they have a female vocalist. I don't know them or know how good they are though! Momo-chin is the only one who's seem them perform," Eiji confirmed.

"Kaidoh really has changed.. I wonder how Inui will handle it," mused Fuji.

"Ah, Inui isn't exactly the same either. You know he was a bartender for a bit while he was in college?" Oishi mentioned with a slight shudder, "Apparently he is a nutritionist and personal trainer for idols now. He went from sports to the industry," Oishi mentioned.

"In Taiwan?"

"No, South Korea. I'm sure he went through quite a couple of loops to even get the time off to come back to Japan… He was most likely following behind a K-Pop group to keep them on an intact regimen while they were on tour," corrected Oishi.

It was shock, but somehow fitting. Inui was still focused on the health field and making menus-it was just in a different way. Him bartending despite how it sounded, also sounded fitting. In their youth Inui was always mixing up a variety of crazy things. Fuji did wonder how the patrons at the bar handled his drinks though…

"Uwa! Nya! Fuji!" Eiji exclaimed suddenly nearly dropping his cell phone.

"What is it?" Fuji asked. He blinked as he was snapped out of his thoughts to pay attention towards his suddenly very excited friend.

"Look! Look!" screamed Eiji shoving his cell phone in Fuji's face.

Fuji's gaze met a digital version of Tezuka Kunimitsu's own brown hues hidden by wire framed glasses. There was a selfie on his Instagram; something of a rarity for him. Most of Tezuka's posts from what Fuji often saw when he lurked were usually nature shots, tennis courts, and occasionally the food he was eating in a country he was visiting.

However, what made Fuji's heart stopped a couple beats was the caption at the bottom of the picture.

" _I'm home."_

Tezuka Kunimitsu had arrived back in Japan as of thirty-six minutes ago…

 _ **(A/N: AHHHH! Another chapter out and so soon. I'm sure the Sailor Moon fandom is loathing me right now because I haven't updated My Secret Empress not nearly as fast-but I'm going to work on the chapters as I have inspiration come to me.**_

 _ **I feel like I am teasing you guys again with a slight cliffhanger… But hey, at least I have you guys some character interaction and less flashbacks! That's a start no? I feel like this is taking awhile because I'm trying so hard to get into the swing of writing about these characters again. Plus, I'm setting up the back story a little bit. Thank you for being patient with me!**_

 _ **We're kind of combining a whole new plot, Memory's basis, and then a bit of Kizuna. LOL. I still kept Kaidoh in a band ( like in Kizuna) and straight out upped the concept and made it visual-kei. It just sounded fitting considering Kaidoh's demeanor. He seems like a rock and roll type of guy outside of tennis, and honestly I feel like the visual kei aspect helps separate his personal life from his band life. Spoiler but some of you do know based on the original fic-Kaidoh was bribed by his little brother Hazue because they needed a bassist and Kaidoh plays bass (he's see with a bass in the TeniPuri music stuff-hence the idea). We all know little Kaidoh is secretly shy and probably the hair and make up helps mask this a little bit. Inui being a bartender just was straight up fitting (it's gonna give him a past don't worry). I could see him becoming a personal trainer. I wanted him in a different country and I felt like the most rigorous training system is one of the K-Pop industry. However, I feel like Inui would be compelled to want to change the industry in a healthy way which would often require him to travel in order to ensure these idols got taken care of properly. I HOPE YOU CAN SEE WHERE I AM CONNECTING BOTH KAIDOH AND INUI ;'D 3 pfftttt..**_

 _ **I also hope you guys also enjoyed the banters between Momoshiro and Ryoma. They're such an underrepresented couple and I adore them to pieces. Their antics kind of write themselves into this fic and keep me laughing.**_

 _ **Fun fact to share with you all, it's so weird implementing things like Instagram into this story because they weren't a thing when I first wrote this! Lmao. Hell TWITTER and Facebook weren't a thing back when I wrote Memory. Facebook was in its early stages as was Twitter where you literally had to text in your tweet and link your phone to your account in some sort of way. I feel so old knowing this all and realizing that when I wrote this concept people were still texting on a fucking T9 keyboard… Like seriously what the fuck was mobile internet back then?**_

 _ **Tho I'm sure Japan actually did have a form of it… Hm.. Also I know Japanese houses hardly have a drive way or even room for a pool. I still wanted certain scenes to be in this fic somehow so I was like fuck it-Fuji's invested in a house built by a foreigner on a plot of land that is a little outside of the city. More of a suburban feel. Inconvenient time wise to the city but still accessible maybe..? -not sure- -making this all up-**_

 _ **Anyway, as always. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's now 8 am and I REALLY need to sleep before I go to my night class… Rest in pieces me. )**_


	3. MEMORY THREE

**MEMORY THREE**

Sadaharu Inui had escaped a rather tightly packed schedule to arrive in Japan that evening. While his flight should have been the shortest of the former Seigaku regulars who resided overseas according to his calculations; he hypothesized that he would be one of the last to arrive. He checked his phone to even confirm this as Tezuka had landed in his home country as of three hours ago based on his Instagram feed. It was a rarity for the stoic buchou to even indulge in a selfie and Inui pondered if such a rare event was due to the occasion.

Nevertheless, this arrival back home would be an interesting one. The bespectacled data specialist needed a break from Korean idols, bars, and strict routines. He had helped train some of the top idol groups under a specific label within the past two years and a half. He was such a valued asset to the company that Inui was often required to travel alongside many of the groups as they performed overseas for events. Hence the reason that he had been in Taiwan. There was a popular female idol group that was participating in a free concert through a make up brand that they had endorsed. The reason why Inui was such an important part of the agency was because he had helped it's reputation. Korean entertainment industries were notorious for pushing their idols to the limits. No sleep, hardly any nutrition, grueling practices, and busy schedules were often the lives of these soon-to-be stars. Agencies often had a bad reputation for this type of treatment-especially overseas. There was a time when a manager from the agency had been a regular at a bar that Inui had been a bartender in at the time. The man had been utterly exhausted from a very long work week and intended on drinking his sorrows away. He was a good fellow who deserved better and direly needed to take better care of his health.

Inui had been experimenting with different protein shakes and ingredients to in hopes of helping overly busy or sick people to maintain a proper level of health with a quick condensed form of supplement. He aspired to be a nutritionist of sorts... He remembered being terrible at such experiments when he had first tried to make juices in junior high. Inui had often used his failed recipes as penalties for the tennis team when they lost team challenges. However, as time went by and spiky-haired teen progressed in his experiments-he had improved. It had swayed him into a career choice and Inui had decided to study abroad for a change of pace. The bespectacled male was way more confident in his skill when he had been a bartender in his early twenties. With that, he had mixed up a protein shake and juice on the house for the manager; explaining the ingredients and even wrote down a menu for him to abide by in order to feel less exhausted. The pop manager was in awe of not only Inui's generosity and care, but at the skill, he had of whipping up a health menu on spot on his job...while still being a college student. It showed the man dedication in Inui's craft and hard work as he juggled work and university courses.

Inui was soon hired under the manager's agency to be each idol's nutritionist and personal trainer. He meal prepped and helped with exercise. Most of the idols that were signed on appreciated him, knowing they were lucky to have someone look after their health while they were distracted with their heavy schedules. Inui would find ingredients and have hired chefs to cook meals for each idol on spot as well as prepare organic juices while creating an exercise menu that went beyond their dance practices. Not one person had fainted on stage or experienced an injury ever since he had been hired. Unfortunately, there was only one of Inui and he could not tend to every idol (especially while he was overseas) but he thankfully had the privilege of being able to train apprentices who would within time, also be hired onto the agency. The goal was to eventually have a traveling nutritionist and trainer for every idol group or solo idol to ensure optimal health and performance. Dangerous dieting and over-exercise would be a thing of the past with this standard being the new expectation of each company.

The apprentices were getting their first real test while Inui stepped away for a vacation. It was one thing for him to be away for a couple of days tending to whomever. However, this trip had been so last minute. He had been in Taiwan when he had received the mass message. It had intrigued him and yet-he had expected it. Eventually, he knew that the team's promise would be eventually be fulfilled. Fuji could only last so long without closure from Tezuka... The last Inui had recalled, there had been something that had happened between them before the tennis team's newly graduated captain left for overseas. The probability of it being over Fuji's feelings for Tezuka was fairly high. Inui's data never lied to him…

Perhaps Fuji would finally get his closure…

Inui had exited the airport and took the train past the city before then taking a taxi to arrive at Fuji's residence. The house was oddly placed in an even more oddly spacious area outside of the city. He wondered how the hell Fuji had managed to even score such a property. It looked like a foreign house on a plot of land near a spot of woods and a lake. Even the taxi driver had questioned if he had been directed correctly, thinking that Inui was lost. In which he had to confirm he wasn't. The data specialist removed his luggage from the trunk on the car before rolling his way up the pathway towards the rather large western style house. It was built high and skinny as if it had three levels. Most likely two bedrooms on each floor-save for the bottom-most level. He noticed there was a large stone gate midway around the house, but not guarding the front. There was a rumor that Fuji had inherited such a house because it was so unique and something beyond a twenty-something's budget. However, Inui had doubted it. Fuji always valued odd things, no matter what the price. He recalled that the tensai was a skilled photographer currently and possibly was able to afford such a luxury. He also noted that there was a chance that the inconvenience of the property could possibly also keep the price low… You would have to take bus or cab if you didn't drive to reach a train station to get into the city. It was something that was a huge inconvenience if you were adapt to public transportation like the Seigaku regulars had been in the youth.

Ringing the doorbell, Inui yet again was bemused with the large house. For it to be so spacious it lacked modern appliances that most Japanese households. The doorbell was extremely old and traditional. There weren't any video cameras or intercoms. The door opened-Fuji being the one to answer. For a millisecond he looked hopeful; only to suddenly place his noh-like smile on his face as he greeted Inui.

"It's been a long time Inui. I'm glad you made it safely," he said.

"Indeed it has. I take it Tezuka has not arrived yet?" Inui inquired with a knowing smile.

Fuji almost looked dejected from being caught, "You don't miss a thing do you?"

"You're not exactly sly about it. Regardless, thank you for allowing all of us to spend our time at your home," answered Inui.

"I'm sure my home would be the only one large enough to accommodate everyone!" Fuji pointed out with a chuckle.

"Point taken. Who else is here?"

"Hoi Hoi! Oishi! Inui is here!" Eiji's voice exclaimed as he appeared right beside Fuji. He clung onto his fawn haired best friend with a bright smile.

"So, Eiji and Oishi," Inui acknowledged as he began to take roll.

"Ochibi and Momo-chin are upstairs sleeping! They're here too!" pointed out Eiji.

"And you're going to wake them up with how loud you are Eiji," Oishi reprimanded gently.

"Oops! Sorry. I got a little too excited now didn't I?" Eiji apologized quietly.

"Mn, things are getting exciting around here. It's understandable. However, a cranky Momoshiro and Echizen wouldn't be a good combination..." Fuji mused at the four of them entered the house.

Inui was anxious suddenly. There was one person, in particular, he had been on edge about seeing. That person being Kaoru Kaidoh. Back in their school days, he was Inui's most valued kouhai… They had attempted to keep in contact post-high school graduation. However, when Inui left for South Korea-they had lost contact. Inui recalled Kaidoh being quite upset that he had chosen to study abroad-even accusing him of never returning. It had been like Kaidoh had predicted it, because while Inui's study abroad program was through a university in Japan-he ended up remaining in South Korea due to the job offer he had received. He had resided there for four years when he had only meant to stay a for two semesters.

Inui had always wondered if Kaidoh was upset with him and if that's why they had failed to keep in contact like they intended to. The last Kaidoh had tried reaching out to him had been three years ago… It was like he had given up on his senpai after the one year mark; concluding that his friend had moved on with his life and so should he.

"Kaidoh hasn't arrived?" the spiky haired male asked.

Eiji gave a knowing cheeky grin, "We are supposed to meet him before we head out to dinner."

"Ah I see..." Inui murmured.

"I think you'll be quite shocked Inui! Kaidoh is a changed man," Eiji continued.

Inui raised a curious eyebrow at such a statement. A changed man…?

"Now, now, Eiji-don't ruin the surprise for him. I want to see his reaction once he sees that his little snake is all grown up now," Fuji taunted with a laugh.

"Excuse me, _mine_?" Inui reiterated, feeling his face grow hot at such a statement. He was very sure that Fuji was gaining some type of revenge over his inquiry of Tezuka by teasing him about Kaidoh… Inui had to admit, while he was the data specialist of the group-and his data never lied; Fuji was a tensai. He saw straight through people and could know things that other people couldn't. It was a specialty of his and what was what made Fuji Syusuke so scary.

Eiji snickered as Oishi elbowed him to stop.

"What? Elbow Fujiko not me!" the redhead insisted.

Fuji's serene blue eyes opened as he said with a devious knowing smile, "Yes. _Yours_ Inui. I'm sure you'll want to take him up on that date you called about that one time once to see him in the flesh."

"T-That was _not_ me asking for a date. He took that wrongly I'll have you know!" Inui protested.

"Last I remember, you didn't correct his assumption," Fuji shot back.

Game set and match. Inui knew he couldn't argue it. Seeing Kaidoh get so shy and worked up afterward had given him a thrill. The usually tough snake-like tennis player had softened up somewhat ever since towards Inui. The older male even suspected that Kaidoh might even have had a slight crush on him. Entertaining the suspicion felt nice… it was flattering that he could be liked by a kouhai...even if it was a boy who secretly might have admired him.

Inui was not used to being fawned over or liked. He wasn't feminine like Fuji, handsome like Oishi and Tezuka, or bright like Eiji… He was the odd senpai of the bunch; nerdy and awkward. He was used to witnessing others blush over Fuji or get intimidated by Tezuka… Seeing Kaidoh get flustered and blush over him...well, it felt nice. However, Inui knew to never act on it fully. Occasionally, back in the day he would test Kaidoh's boundaries but not to the extent of squeezing a confession out of him. He had been worried that if he had pushed too far that it would end their friendship. Inui had never wanted to risk that.

"Enough of that. Is Kawamura coming by?" Inui asked, quickly changing the subject.

"He has the sushi shop to manage. We will be having dinner there," Oishi answered.

"Ah I see," Inui muttered in acknowledgment.

"He's even a father now, so his hands are pretty tied," Fuji explained.

The remainder of the day was spent snacking around on food that Fuji had scrounged up and bringing up old memories from their school days. Inui would notice every now and then Fuji checking his phone-scrolling through whatever or checking the time. It was peculiar for Tezuka to have not appeared yet. It was clearly making Fuji antsy with anticipation. Usually, the fawn haired tensai was a pro at restraining his emotions. However, this was an exception. He was easily read. His emotions couldn't be repressed.

"Perhaps he had obligations Fuji," Inui commented gently in an attempt to comfort his friend.

"Mn...perhaps. I'm sorry. I really am being obvious about this, aren't I? I should be happy that all of you are here," Fuji stated, "I feel like a brat."

Oishi shook his head in protest with an assuring smile, "No. We understand. Something happened that day. I think we all kind of knew you really did love him. It must be hard not knowing where you have stood all these years..."

"Nyaa… Fujiko is usually good at these sorts of things. You picked the hardest person to fall for!" Eiji commented.

"Indeed. However, the closest person to Tezuka is Fuji," Inui pointed out.

"Other than maybe Atobe and Ochibi," Eiji added.

"Atobe and Echizen have a different type of relationship with Tezuka than Fuji did though if you've forgotten Eiji," corrected Oishi.

"Yeah.. You're right. They were always beside each other," Eiji agreed.

"He only smiled around Fuji. I just happened to be enough of a creep to catch it without them noticing," Inui added with a sly grin.

Fuji laughed-which comforted Inui in knowing that him roasting himself and bringing up a fond memory could place his former teammate at ease. It was a big deal for the small fawn haired male to be worked up. He was never worked up; so this was important.

Even Inui was curious as to how it would end… He couldn't even predict the probability of Tezuka reciprocating Fuji's feelings…

"You're scary Inui! What all else have you noticed without anyone else noticing?" Eiji moaned.

Oishi laughed at that one, "I'm sure enough to have good data."

The volley player was correct. Inui had good enough data on everyone to know almost everything. Fuji had more insight but Inui happened to be at the right places at the right times. It made Inui curious about another thing speaking of which…

"Enough about Fuji and Tezuka. What about you both? You're the only ones who remained in close contact..."

Eiji tensed by beside Oishi, flushing as red as his hair looking shocked. Inui then knew that Eiji knew that _he knew._

"Ah! Eiji and I run a pet shop together. We're best friends so I know that I can trust him as a business partner. He loves pets and I wanted to settle down and have a quiet life after university. I debated being a doctor for quite some time.." Oishi began his voice trailed off.

"But…?" Inui pressed.

"Oishi realized that a doctor has an intense schedule and he didn't want to shoulder the burden of carrying the life of others in his hands," explained Fuji. He was sparing his friend from the need of explaining something that he might possibly be ashamed over.

Eiji looked as if he was guilty over this…

"Nya… I needed Oishi. I didn't want to be alone taking a risk at this endeavor of mine to open up a shop. He risked his own dream for me," he said.

Oishi shook his head in protest, "Being a doctor was much too intense for me. As much as I wanted to help people; I am horrible under pressure. The fear of letting someone down really affected how I functioned. I could have perhaps, went into pediatrics or pharmacy but I had already went through med school by the time I had changed my mind… Being with you was the best option I had. I had messed up my own self by thinking that I knew what exactly I wanted at such a young age."

Inui knew of this well. He ended up with the most unlikely of professions himself. He was constantly around gorgeous, talented, or important people all day. He didn't delve into sports anymore but rather in personal fitness and nutrition. He had always thought that he would end up becoming a chemist, maybe a pharmacist, or even personal trainer…. _Kaidoh's_ personal trainer in particular.. It had been the whole reason he had diverted his own major in college to begin with. He had hoped to meet Kaidoh midway, knowing that if he had decided to take on some doctorate degree and a high paying job he would no longer be connected to Kaidoh by any means. The younger boy was ambitious but not _that_ ambitious. Inui had always thought that his kouhai would go on to play professional tennis but he had yet to see him within the ranks next to Atobe, Tezuka, or Ryoma…

"Not to place a target on myself again, but...what exactly did happen to Kaidoh? You act as if you know," Inui mentioned. He brought up the subject because he had been curious. His own thoughts had made him drift back into wanting to ask..

Fuji smiled slyly, "We can't spoil the surprise now can we…? No, Eiji you _can't_ tell him. I rather see his reaction myself tonight."

"Tonight?" Inui pressed hoping to gather more data.

"Kaidoh will join us for dinner but we will pay him a visit and pick him up first. He has prior obligations," Fuji explained.

Oishi shook his head in disbelief as Eiji snickered amusedly.

"Ii data..." Inui murmured; despite his curiosity being further coaxed by everyone's secrecy on just what the hell was going on with his kouhai… He had enough data to fill pages and pages of his notebooks just on Oishi and Eiji alone. He could only imagine what else he would discover about his former teammates as time went on. This would be an interesting trip back home indeed…

* * *

He was the first to wake up… Laying on the floor, he peered over at the still fast asleep figure that resided in the bed. Momoshiro silently groaned. Why the fuck was this kid so cute?! He felt like an idiot being this in love… He had never ever been so taken with someone as he had been with Echizen. It was scary. He had plenty of crushes on girls in the past but nothing quite as intense as this.. God, he was so gay…

He was sure he would _not_ hear the end of this from Mamushi or Eiji-senpai...but like they could talk! The red-headed acrobat had goo-goo eyes for his doubles partner since forever and the stupid snake probably had a lame ass crush on Inui-senpai for all Momoshiro knew.

Being around Ryoma was truly dangerous. Momoshiro wanted to act like a complete creep and impulsively act on his feelings. Heck, he wanted to make his feelings known… However, that might not be good. It might risk their friendship. Momoshiro thought he would just be satisfied knowing whether or not he truly _loved_ Ryoma in the way and thought seeing him in person would help settle it. It had only made things more intense and a lot worse. Now he had to fight his own butterflies and self-control. He felt like some girl fawning over a guy they admired.

Momoshiro had to admit; Ryoma was as cool as he was cute. There was something attractive as hell about the growing up to be a successful tennis player and going on to conquer the world. He still had somewhat of the same personality as before… Even the way he slept made Momoshiro feel nostalgic. Sleeping Ryoma looked younger-more carefree; like he was twelve or thirteen again. He haphazardly curled around a pillow that Momoshiro wished was him. He was jealous. He wanted Ryoma's cuddles..

He then made note of how fucking creepy he must sound at that moment and was grateful that none of his was out loud and only in his head.

A smirk formed on Ryoma's lips suddenly despite his eyes still being closed.

"Are you finished yet Senpai?" he asked.

Momoshiro paled. _Shit…._

"What the fuck Echizen?! You could have told me you were awake. I've been laying here waiting like an idiot!"

"I can feel your eyes on me. You've been making faces for the past couple of minutes. You could have woke up and joined everyone else without me," said Ryoma.

"That would have just been rude," Momoshiro said in his defense.

"Not even. Creeping on me while I sleep is worse. What the fuck are you? Edward Cullen or some shit?" Ryoma shot back teasingly as he opened his eyes and slowly sat up. He rubbed his eyes and stretched out after being curled up for so long.

"Last I checked, I don't sparkle. Living off of blood sounds pretty disgusting too. I'm not into sissy vampire shit anyway. At least make me cool like Dracula or something," said Momoshiro, "Plus, how would you know about that stuff anyway unless you read or watched it yourself? That's pretty lame..."

Ryoma rolled his eyes, "You'd be shocked at what American girls are into. I watch TV and go on the internet enough to see ads to know what's a thing. You knew they sparkled, so what the hell does that say about you?"

Momoshiro wanted to die. This kid really knew how to be a damn smartass. He slowly inched his way back into the covers to hide his face mortified in embarrassment that he told on his self. He watched the stupid movie _one time…_ on a flight to go see Ryoma of all things too! Echizen could go suck it…

Then he realized how terrible _that_ sounded too and that just made Momoshiro want to die even more.. A pillow landed on top of his mound of covers and he peeked over to see Ryoma grab clothes and toiletries from one of his bags.

"Take your time coming out of your hole. I'm going to go take a shower. I'm gross," the younger male announced before stepping over Momoshiro and walking out of the room to ask Fuji where his shower was.

Rolling over on to his stomach, Momoshiro groaned into the pillow in frustration. How the hell was he going to endure rooming with this boy?! He was already acting like a bumbling idiot without even actually trying! He could already foreshadow this being an incredibly blissful and yet painful summer. The violet-eyed man was questioning how much he hated himself and whether or not he was a masochist…

* * *

His cellphone rang as he was in the taxi on the way to his destination. The name on his caller ID wasn't as shocking as it should have been. He should have known that the ice king would habitually be nosy, especially after he had caught him casually glimpsing at a certain photographer's Instagram page.

"Hello?"

"Ore-sama sees that you landed in Japan safe and sound. What a relief, I'm sure _he_ is impatiently waiting for you," Atobe Keigo drawled on the other line.

"I'm merely stopping by to fulfill my promise to the team and then I will leave," responded the man on the other end of the phone.

"Are you so sure about that Tezuka? I have seen him recently… The tensai looks stunning as ever. More beautiful than any woman your parents have set you up with," Atobe teased.

The bespectacled captain shuddered on the other end of the line, knowing _very_ well that Fuji Syusuke had grown into his looks. Based on the few his photos posted of himself, he was absolutely gorgeous. He shook his head to pull himself away from the thought. He had to stay focused! Dwelling on him was careless! He couldn't let his guard down…

"You are aware I have no choice. I have to keep my distance. I have explained this to you," the captain of Seigaku sternly reminded the man on the other line.

"Fuji Syusuke isn't worth breaking those commitments? Really? Is that woman that much of a yamato nadeshiko*? Or is it that you're _that_ afraid of your family? I'm trying to figure out which one it is Tezuka," Atobe answered as if challenging him.

" _Goodbye Atobe,"_ Tezuka mustered through gritted teeth as he disconnected the call. His phone was tightly gripped in his hand in frustration. Perhaps he needed to make it clear to Fuji...

"Sir, there's been a change of plans. I'll be heading to my family's home first, instead," he called out to the driver in the front seat.

* * *

Momoshiro peeked out into the living room once he knew for sure that Ryoma was in the shower… His senpai-tachi save for their captain (who still hadn't arrived) was lounging within the large living room space. There was a clear glass teapot on the middle of the stylish coffee table. Each member was snacking on a variety of desserts that Fuji had laid out across the table for consumption. He was being a generous host by helping everyone have some type of substance until dinner later on.

"Well, well, Momoshiro has decided to join us," Fuji said with a knowing smirk that had returned from earlier. Matter of fact, everyone had a "knowing" type of look on their face that sent Momoshiro into fifty different shades of red if that were possible.

"Ii data..." Inui murmured behind a hand as if in a muse. Momoshiro was almost in shock that he was absent of his infamous green notebook. Then again, they were adults now with different priorities. Inui had no need.

"C-Cut it out! I get it! You all know!" Momoshiro stuttered as he sauntered over guiltily caught. He wondered just who exactly the rat was and knew that it was probably his hyperactive cat-like senpai Eiji who had spilled the detailed to the rest of the guests in the house.

"Mn..you didn't want to join him?" Fuji pressed with a smirk.

Eiji giggled in response but handed Momoshiro a perfectly shaped manjyu in comfort as Oishi patted his back in comfort.

"He doesn't know and let's _please_ keep it that way for now okay? I'm still coming to terms with all of this!" Momoshiro shushed quietly. He was mortified. Everyone probably knew about his little crush save for Echizen himself. He'd probably be the victim of teasing the entire trip!

"Your secret is safe. Your reaction is just funny for the rest of them. No worries. We're more mature than that. Right guys?" Oishi consoled.

It figured. Oishi would of course automatically take on the mother-hen role again as if it was second nature. However, the others nodded in agreement.

"So...how exactly did you both end up arriving here together huh?" Eiji pressed. His eyes glittered in anticipation for the story.

"Ah..." Momoshiro rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He was ashamed. He was going to totally expose himself as some fanatic fan or stalker with his explanation, but he went for it anyway in hopes his senpai would understand. At least fucking mamushi wasn't here yet to criticize his life decisions. That would be an awkward as fuck meeting as is. The stupid snake had avoided him ever since Momoshiro had impulsively swapped spit with him...and for good reason he supposed.

"So...I kind of have been following him games with whatever income I've had ever since I realized that I might lik-...you know, "Momoshiro couldn't muster saying such a thing out-loud, "Anyway, I got your text message Fuji-senpai, as I was watching him win the US Open. I realized once he didn't show up for his post-victory speech that he was headed here, so I booked it to LAX. I was really worried that he would pop in to say hi and be an ocean away again. You see...his manager his pretty tight to get around. Even though I am Echizen's friend and senpai, his manager wasn't going to have anyone be near him. I couldn't find his phone number or even message him on any type of account he had. It was frustrating. I wanted to meet him myself to see if I could sort out these feelings I had. I wasn't sure if I just missed him or if I actually did...well...you know…. Anyway, I couldn't fucking believe it when I ran into him in the damn lobby of the airport. I was having a hard time catching an immediate flight out on such short notice. The kid just found me when I was killing time before trying again. Money speaks you know? So he dragged me with him on his flight..."

"So...do you? After seeing him again?" Oishi inquired.

Fuji chuckled, "I'm sure the red look on his face certainly confirmed it. He's a young boy in love!"

Momoshiro quietly took a large bite out of the confection he had been offered earlier in hopes that it would distract him from he nerves. Food was always a good answer at times like this.

"I'm sure that you might have a chance. There's a 98 percent chance he's single….even if he had dated Sakuno Ryuzaki...there might be a possibility," Inui assured.

"Thanks for the support guys," Momoshiro muttered.

"Nya nya! We are serious Momo-chin! We are here for you. If you ever wanna talk about it all, feel free to _at least_ talk to me and Oishi about it okay?" insisted Eiji.

"I think it's sweet," Fuji commented as if he was trying to comfort him.

"Of course you would. You've been waiting too. Don't think I forgot senpai!" retorted Momoshiro.

Inui's eyes glinted dangerously as he grinned, "True. You are not the only one with lingering feelings."

Fuji hid behind one his noh-like smiles as he said, "Mn..that is true. However, I am very sure and secure with my feelings. Whether the other party reciprocates is a different story, however..."

Eiji shuddered as if he thought gave him anxiety, "I'm nervous for you!"

"Whatever will happen will be unavoidable. At the least, I'm given closure-an answer finally after so long of being left in the dark," Fuji said.

"What about being left in the dark?" asked a voice that had entered the room. Ryoma stood freshly dressed with his wet hair plastered to his face and a towel draped around his neck.

"I was just explaining to everyone how it's going to be dark if we do not leave to pick up Kaidoh soon," answered Fuji.

"I'll go dry my hair then. Momo-senpai you should probably clean up now too. Hurry up. They wanna leave soon," Ryoma said.

Momoshiro turned a tinge of pink and nodded. He only glanced over at his former teammates sitting at the table once before exiting the living room to get ready for there seemingly long evening out and about. This trip had only just begun. Who knew what else was in store for all of them…

* * *

 _ **(A/N: Long time no speak. I apologize for being super quiet. I had an insanely busy school year that I just ended on with a university transfer for this fall. I took five classes last semester and this semester I decided to take on six English classes at three different campuses. x_x It wasn't an easy feat but I managed to graduate from my junior college with my last semester ending off with a 4.0 GPA. I'm hoping that I'll have more time to be creative over the summer. I had part of this chapter written out just lingering but I was glad that I was able to continue on. I'm sure the Sailor Moon fandom HATES me right now because I updated this fic first, but I had a very very long portion and update for them coming soon hopefully. This chapter was very fun to write despite the long break between segments. I was really excited to introduce Inui in this. While the profession he took on might be a little OOC I SWEAR this makes sense considering the predicament Kaidoh is in. Plus, I am basing a lot of this off of the stuff I wrote when I was 12-16 years ago. If any of you have read 'Memory' or the FIRST version of 'Kizuna' you might know where this is going! Spoiler: Music is kinda going to bind them in a weird ass way… How through this though will be different than Kizuna and why Kaidoh did what he did will be different. I've also added a different but very huge plot twist in this that has really plagued my mind right when I decided to revive this fic. I think you guys will enjoy it! ;) I'm trying to make this more so multidimensional than the stuff I had before. As always, I'm going to remind you all that I haven't participated in this fandom in ages so there might be some errors here and there. x_x I need to refresh myself. It's been too long. With that said, I'm realizing that I really enjoy writing from Momoshiro's perspective. It's not one that I often took on previously but I'm really amused with it. There is not a lot of Momo/Ryoma stuff on the internet though so I'm going to happily embrace the fact that his perspective is writing itself in. Next chapter we are introducing some vital things-Kaidoh, some old beloved original characters, and PERHAPS some other stuff. So please look forward to it!)**_

 _ ***Yamato Nadeshiko: The ideal Japanese woman. Google it. This will make sense later on I promise. ;)**_


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